The race to put a man on the moon provided the perfect metaphor for scientific achievement, one that challenged and captured the public imagination. Yet in addition to its science-fiction glamour, the space race served equally powerful and social objectives. Countdown provides the first overview of the period that explores the achievements and failures of all sides of the space race in their full historical context.

T. A. Heppenheimer, Ph.D., has written extensively on aerospace, business, and the history of technology. A frequent contributor to Discover, Forbes, Nature, Omni, and American Heritage magazines, he is the author of six previous books, including Turbulent Skies: The History of Commercial Aviation (Wiley). Dr. Heppenheimer divides his time between Fountain Valley, California, and West Palm Beach, Florida.

The race to put a man on the moon provided the perfect metaphor for scientific achievement, one that challenged and captured the public imagination. Yet in addition to its science-fiction glamour, the space race served equally powerful and social objectives. Countdown provides the first overview of the period that explores the achievements and failures of all sides of the space race in their full historical context.

T. A. Heppenheimer, Ph.D., has written extensively on aerospace, business, and the history of technology. A frequent contributor to Discover, Forbes, Nature, Omni, and American Heritage magazines, he is the author of six previous books, including Turbulent Skies: The History of Commercial Aviation (Wiley). Dr. Heppenheimer divides his time between Fountain Valley, California, and West Palm Beach, Florida.